


SakuMo's Corrwain Musings

by SakuraMota



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Character Study, F/M, relationship analysis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:20:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21769780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakuraMota/pseuds/SakuraMota
Summary: An analysis of my OTP.  What makes them tick, and what makes them good as a couple.  My own thoughts, some canon pieces, and other ramblings.  A reflection on how I write the two of them as a couple in fics.
Relationships: Eudes | Owain/My Unit | Kamui | Corrin, My Unit | Kamui | Corrin/Odin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	SakuMo's Corrwain Musings

_ SakuMo’s Corrwain Musings _   
A Fire Emblem Fates Character Relationship Analysis

Recently in a Discord group, someone asked in the writer’s circle for advice on writing romantic relationships. I gave a little criteria rundown of how I figure couples out, and then afterward, I filled it out for Corrwain (because I’m predictible). I intended to just make it a quick little form fill.

And then I indulged too much. You never go full OTP indulgence.

So I figured, sure, I’ll throw it out there into the void of the internet in case someone finds my thoughts on this underappreciated ship that I adore with all my heart interesting. So that’s what this is.

For setup, the criteria we’re covering:

  1. What is their dynamic?
  2. What are their strengths as a couple?
  3. What are their weaknesses?
  4. How do you feel they express love (as in the five love languages)?
  5. How did they meet?
  6. How did it go?



In case anyone’s unfamiliar with the Five Love Languages, they are as follows:

  1. **Word Affirmation.** Think things like praise.
  2. **Gifts.** Pretty self-explanatory.
  3. **Acts of Service.** Doing a little something you know your partner would like. For example, my husband sets the coffee timer every morning for me before he leaves for work.
  4. **Quality Time.** Spending time together.
  5. **Physical Touch.** Non-sexual touching, such as cuddling, hugging, petting. Sexual touches fall here, too, though.



And thus, we begin.

* * *

**What is their dynamic?**

Owain is the hyper, sunshine energy of the two. He's enthusiastic, a bit chaotic, but is a very kind person who would sacrifice anything to help someone he cares for in need. He can be very thoughtful at times, because he really is full of love for life and everyone close to him. Being a prince, he was of course well-educated (his vocabulary alone is proof of that), but he can sometimes lack common sense (intelligent dumbass).

Corrin is the more reserved of the two. She's friendly and eager to see the world, to have her own adventures. She's a natural-born leader (even if she doesn't realize it and doubts it), and she has a big heart and a strong love of family. As a royal herself, she was also well-educated and has a love of reading.

Together, they balance each other out. Owain helps remind Corrin it's okay to have fun, even in serious times, and he's a source of support when Corrin doubts herself. He's very positive and uplifting with her. He makes her smile. Corrin, on the other hand, helps rein in Owain when he's getting too chaotic or lost in tangents during times that should be more serious. She uplifts him in his darker moments. She teases him with love, if only because it's cute to watch him break character and fluster. They read a lot, especially together, and they go on adventures big and small. She loves his storytelling, and his adventurous spirit pairs well with her years of yearning to see the world.

* * *

**What are their strengths?**

Somewhat covered in the dynamic answer, but I think they support each other in a way each of them needs. They love spending time together and just talking. Owain is a very devoted lover; I've often said he's big golden retriever energy (his marriage room dialogues are all him being very excited to see Corrin return). Once he's gotten past his, "House Ylisse are genetically-guaranteed love disasters," point, he's a very tender lover. He's the one reciting love poems he wrote about her and whispering soft sonnets of devotion in the dark at night. Corrin, being raised isolated, has always longed for human connection, so she's a bit clingy, but in that, "I'm so happy I found you," kind of way. She (undoubtedly) has a  _ lot _ of hobbies she picked up in her free time. They support each other's strengths and weaknesses in good ways.

* * *

**What are their weaknesses?**

Underneath the bluster, Owain is pretty self-deprecating. There's many times in various supports that when he's being praised, he hand waves and says, "It was really no big deal." In supports with Severa (Awakening), Felicia (Fates), and Takumi (Warriors), he showcases moments where the mistreatment he gets just for being himself breaks him, and he retreats inward to spiral into self-deprecation. In this way and many others, he hides his pain, even from those closest to him. He's the one who has to lift everyone up; he can't burden them with his own dark feelings. This is a problem in their marriage, and one they have to work on together. He has to learn to let someone in. He came from a very dark child/teenhood, and like the other Awakening kids, he has a level of PTSD and despair hiding behind that sunshine smile and bravado.

Corrin's canon says she's socially well-adjusted and outgoing, but this makes very little sense to me given her background. I've often said I base Corrin in my fics on Rapunzel in Tangled: friendly, has big dreams, longs for adventure, but high-anxiety and not good with crowds and a bit socially anxious. She doubts herself a lot, and she needs support in those areas. She's naive to a fault and a bit too trusting of others. For the bulk of her life, she longed for connection, so she can be a bit overeager for friendship. She touches people a lot (platonically), often without asking first, and it backfires at times with people who don't appreciate her need to feel emotional and physical connection with others.

* * *

**What are their love languages?**

Owain's giving love language expressions are Quality Time, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. He  _ adores _ being together. Both of them were lonely in their childhoods, Owain from losing his family and Corrin from her isolation, so they both want time to just be together and help each other feel whole. As mentioned before, Owain will go out of his way to be helpful, so he's the sort of lover who does the little things without being asked. He makes her coffee in the morning since Corrin (canonically) struggles to wake up in the morning and (headcanon) Owain rises with the sun. Anything he notices he can do to brighten her day, he does them. Physical Touch is important for them both because of their shared past struggles with loneliness. They're both sleep-cuddlers, falling asleep in each other's arms. Corrin had her siblings, but they couldn't be around her all the time, so she often lacked the love she needed (though she cherished the times she had it). Owain, also needing this, expresses his love with spontaneous hugs, often seeking her out just for this purpose and to claim his adoration for her, then leaving for them both to go about their routines afterward. He knows what it feels like to be starved for contact, so he's sure to give it when he can.

Owain's receiving love language expressions are Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, and Physical Touch. As mentioned, he has a secret self-deprecating side, so he needs reassurance in these moments. He still has bouts of PTSD episodes (mostly nightmares), and he needs extra support in those times, both in reminders he is loved and assurance his past traumas are not his fault. Because of his self-deprecation and experience with most people not understanding him and therefore treating him with unkindness, he has doubts that the people close to him actually love and care about him. He needs reminders that he is loved and he is not strange and it's okay to be himself. He needs time together to hammer home this concept. "She wants to spend time with me, she's interested in my stories, she values my input, she loves me just the way I am,  _ she understands me _ ." Because even his closest friends find him a bit exasperating at times, he's lacked a lot of positive physical touch since he lost his parents. It made him a bit touch-starved, so Corrin's penchant for reaching out is something he very much needed and likewise returns.

Corrin's giving and receiving love language expressions are Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, and Physical Touch. She is very supportive of the ones she loves, but she also needs that support herself. She's not as needy for it as Owain is, but he lovingly reminds her that she's strong and a good leader and that he will always be there to support her. Even in battle, he works in sync with her, both with his magic and with swordplay. They reach an equilibrium where they can convey what they need to the other with a look alone, and they in-turn anticipate each other to work fluidly together. As mentioned, they both were lonely in the past, so time together and physical affection are both very important to them. Even little things, like sharing a couch while they both read separate books, are times cherished together. They take a break together every afternoon to spend an hour alone in their room, sometimes for spicy things but usually for non-sexual cuddling and conversation together. It's a small respite in their day-to-day duties of Owain serving Leo and Corrin leading the army, and then later as they both serve as King and Queen of New Valla. Connection, through time spent together and touch, are of utmost importance to them both.

* * *

**How did they meet and how did that go?**

Owain had a rehearsed greeting in his head when Leo brought him to meet Corrin at the Northern Fortress. I hc he arrives in Nohr ~2 years before the start of Fates, so they met a few times before the war began. Depending on my needs for the fic at hand, it either went really well (she smiled and laughed and then said something like, "Well, that's quite the introduction!" and was further captivated by his storytelling) or really badly (she stared blankly at him, unsure of what to really say, until he nervously faltered and apologized for being over the top; the rest of the meeting was somewhat awkward and after he left, Corrin thought he was very odd, and yet he lingered on her mind for a while after, trying to figure him out; Owain likewise couldn't get the meeting out of his mind and tried to figure out how to better approach her). Depending on the result, they either became fast friends or had a few more awkward encounters before they started to see each other in positive ways.

* * *

So that’s it! Hope my little tangent was interesting to read. It’s a culmination of a lot of headcanons, lore, and other bits and bobs I’ve collected but never really written out in one go. It came about unintentionally, but hey, that’s how most creative things happen, I suppose. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, you can find me:
> 
> Twitter: [@sakumodoesstuff](https://twitter.com/sakumodoesstuff)  
> Tumblr: [@sakumosowainthirst](https://sakumosowainthirst.tumblr.com)  
> Discord: [Eldritch Smackdown the Corrwain Discord Server](https://discord.gg/GzNJgHb)


End file.
